At Home with Stick in the Wheel
Verity Sharp hosts a series of conversations and performances recorded by songwriters at home. For this edition she dials up Nicola Kearey and Ian Carter of Stick in the Wheel. After a year of restricted movement, cancelled gigs and binned recording projects, have some of the UK’s most seasoned folk musicians changed their creative lives for good? Has the pandemic brought a whole new sense of artistic conscientiousness that has altered their artistic habits, or will it be business as usual once life’s back on track? Does the idea of jetting around the world to sing for large audiences still appeal, or has performing and sharing work online opened up new, more democratic possibilities? And how have all the events of the year rubbed off on their songwriting and sense of purpose? Verity Sharp calls up musicians who’re rooted in tradition, to find out how they’re currently feeling and to ask them to share a song that’s kept them grounded during this exceptional year. In this episode, Nicola Kearey and Ian Carter of Stick in the Wheel reveal how their DIY attitude and ingrained work ethic has served them well during this year of struggle and hard graft. Presented and produced by Verity Sharp. A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3.